Jimmy Carter, 99, Has 'Physically Diminished' and 'Can't Do Much on His Own' After Being in Hospice for Over 19 Months, Says Grandson
Sept. 18 2024, Published 8:20 p.m. ET
Jimmy Carter's grandson Jason Carter shared more details about how the ex-president is holding up just days before he turns 100 on October 1.
“He’s doing okay,” Jason said of Jimmy while at the “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song" birthday concert on September 17.
“I mean he’s been in hospice for over 19 months now and he has really physically diminished and can’t do much on his own, but he is emotionally engaged and still having experiences and laughing, loving,” he added.
As OK! previously reported, Jason previously spoke about his grandmother in more detail while talking to Southern Living in June.
Jason revealed there's "really been no change" in his grandfather's health in the past few years.
“After 77 years of marriage… I just think none of us really understand what it’s like for him right now,” Jason said, referring to his romance with Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 at 96 years old. “We have to embrace that fact, that there’s things about the spirit that you just can’t understand.”
One month prior, Jason gave an update about a month ago while speaking at the 28th Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum, stating the former president "is doing OK."
“He really is, I think, coming to the end that, as I’ve said before, there’s a part of this faith journey that is so important to him,” he continued. “And there’s a part of that faith journey that you only can live at the very end. And I think he has been there in that space.”
Jason recalled visiting his grandfather recently, where they watched the Atlanta Braves together. “‘People ask me how you’re doing and I say, I don’t know’ and he said, ‘Well, I don’t know myself,’" Jason recalled of their conversation.
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Jimmy entered hospice care at his Plains, Ga., home in February 2023. He did come out of hiding when he was seen at Rosalynn's funeral, where he appeared frail in his wheelchair.
“My grandmother’s passing was a difficult moment for all of us, including my grandfather,” Jason noted.
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“The outpouring of love and support that we as a family received from the people in this room and from the rest of the world was so remarkable and meaningful for us and really turned this process into a celebration,” he told the audience.